"Hahaha!" Erica laughed from the sky. "That's it! Burn for me! Burn!" Erica unhesitatingly unleashed countless fireballs. The inferno raged on the open plains, turning the surroundings into a hellish battlefield. "You can tell she's been holding back a lot," Derek said with a smirk. "Aren't you in the same boat?" Diana commented. "Besides, her abilities are just perfect for large-scale battles." As soon as Roland declared they would also head out to clear the monsters surrounding the city they guarded, the Hero Party's motivation soared. Shana usually stayed at the back and acted as support, but now, even she had joined the fray, raining countless flower petals onto the Minotaur Army, shredding their bodies apart. "Shana, can't you just focus on support?" Mildred complained. "I want to kill some monsters too!" "Stop talking and keep killing," Shana replied. "They're just a bunch of small fries. Don't tell me you'll get hurt fighting against them?" "Wow! Just wow." Mildred almost smacked her own face. "You're talking like a certain standoffish guy I know. His bad habits are rubbing off on you." 'That's not the only thing Zion rubbed on her,' Erica thought. Her sense of hearing was enhanced, so she couldn't help but overhear Mildred's and Shana's conversation. A smile bloomed on her face, knowing Shana must be feeling competitive after their fiance's actions. Even Roland was surprised to see their healer actively killing monsters instead of focusing on support. It had skipped his notice Shana was actually multi-tasking. Even as the Saintess attacked their enemies, she maintained her presence on the battlefield, ready to heal if her allies received injuries in battle. On the other hand, Joshua wasn't fighting like his teammates. He busily chatted with his girlfriend on the phone, relying on his teammates to fight the monsters around him. "What are you doing, Joshua?" Roland asked. "We're here to fight." The Sage threw the Hero a short sidelong glance before his thumb resumed tapping on his smartphone's keyboard. "You can't even handle small fries?" Joshua asked in disdain. "Look at Shana. She's not even complaining that I'm just standing here. Seems like she's enjoying it." Roland gave the Saintess a glance before shifting his attention back to his ex-best friend, who had a foolish smile on his face as he replied to his girlfriend's messages. In the end, the leader of the Hero Party decided to ignore Joshua and resumed killing monsters. Although he didn't want to admit it, the monsters they were fighting were really weak. The only thing they had going for themselves was their sheer number. Roland had trained hard for two years, after all, so he easily handled them without problems. Still, he was surprised by how strong he had become. 'Were these minotaurs always this weak?' Roland thought. 'Or did I just become so much stronger?' So far, all the members of the Hero Party had reached Master Rank. Attaining this level at their young age proved their status as the prodigies of humanity. The Minotaurs they faced were Rank 2 Monsters, and they numbered in the thousands. Although the monsters weren't as numerous as the horde Zion's subordinates fought an hour ago, they were still quite strong compared to ordinary monsters. And yet, he could kill them with a single strike, and a sword skill could kill dozens of them if he aimed it right. 'It's quite unfortunate Taiga isn't here,' Roland thought as he remembered his new best friend who had trained with him. Zion had ill-treated both of them, so the two harbored a deep grudge against him. Perhaps that was why the two of them had become sworn brothers, training as hard as they could together. Their goal was to defeat Zion in a one-on-one battle. "Don't look down on Zion just because he is just a Rookie." Taiga had said seriously back then. "That guy has so many tricks under his sleeve. Even though I'm now in the Master Rank, I still don't think I can defeat him!" The irony of it all was that Roland thought the same. Even after two years of hard training, he was still not confident that he could defeat the teenage boy in a one-on-one battle. The only silver lining was that Joshua seemed to have given up on Shana and found a different person to love. With fewer competitors, Roland was confident that he could win Shana's heart. His goal was to save the Cygni Continent first from its invaders, and then grandly propose to her. It was the perfect plan. At least, that was what he thought at that time. (A/N: Kukuku.) (E/N: Mwahaha.) The members of the Cygni Coalition had decided to follow the Hero Party into the battle and were also very surprised at how easily they dealt with the monsters that had been plaguing them for months. As luck would have it, there was also a News Agency stationed in the same city as the Hero Party, and at that moment, they were broadcasting their battle to the world. "As you can see, the members of the Hero Party are doing short work of the monsters," the reporter said excitedly. "The enemies didn't even stand a chance!" The name of the company was Prime 13 Productions, and they had been following the Hero Party since their arrival in the Cygni Continent. They were a subsidiary of the Company, NOIZ, which had become popular after releasing the GANDAM virtual reality fighting game to the world. Although not as popular as Bee Bee Cee, they were starting to gain some popularity. Showing the Hero Party fight against the monsters steadily increased their viewership and subscription count. This made a certain teenage boy with a black snake coiled around his neck smirk evilly as he felt the money starting to roll into his bank accounts. As the battle continued, the cameraman focused his attention on the members of the Hero Party. Joshua only attacked whenever the camera was shot in his direction and would immediately slack off after he was no longer the focus of attention. Clearly, the reporter and the cameraman were given strict orders to only highlight Joshua when he was actively fighting monsters and ignore his lazy side. After an hour of non-stop fighting, the Minotaur army was finally defeated. But Roland wasn't content yet. Just like what Zion did, he led everyone to attack the Minotaur's Den and made sure to kill every last one of them. When the battle ended, the reporter interviewed Roland and asked him for a few words to share with the viewers. "I just want to tell everyone that the Hero Party will not stop here," Roland declared. "We will eradicate all the monster nests in the surroundings and ensure that the cities at the front lines are safe. "Lastly, I just want to pass a message to the Commander of the 69th Battalion. May the best team win." After saying those words, Roland bid goodbye to everyone watching at home. The reporter didn't stop the interview there. She approached Erica and asked for her comment about the battle. "These monsters are just small fries, so taking them out isn't a problem for us," Erica said. "Also, I would like to tell my fiance Zion Leventis that he won't be sleeping anytime soon when we reunite sometime in the future." The Sorceress even playfully blew a kiss to the camera, making the single guys watching curse Zion internally. Knowing this might lower their viewer count, the reporter hastily looked for the Saintess, hoping she would purify Erica's earlier interview. "Saintess, we've seen that you were actively fighting the monsters earlier." the reporter smiled. "We haven't seen you for the past two years. Did you train some offensive abilities to become an All-Rounder?" "Yes," Shana replied. "I don't want to be the one always being protected at the back. I want to protect my allies as well, so I learned a thing or two during the two years that I was in Solterra." "Wonderful!" the reporter commented. "Then, do you have any message that you want to share with the viewers?" Shana nodded. "This message is for the citizens of the Cygni Continent. Wherever all of you may be, know that there are people fighting hard to defend your homeland. Please, rest assured. We will not let it fall into the hands of the Jinns." The reporter was moved by Shana's declaration and praised herself for interviewing the right person. Her beauty, charisma, and innocence made the viewers smile as they looked at her from their TV screens. The young lady's message brought hope to those who were feeling anxious about their homeland, which was currently facing a Jinn invasion. But the majority of the people weren't aware that Shana was just holding back the true message that she wanted to say. Just like Erica, she wanted to send a message to Zion. However, she had to pay attention to her status and knew she couldn't be as bold as her friend, who could openly show her affection to others. "Thank you for the interview!" the reporter said with a smile. "This is Natasha from Prime 13 Productions signing out!"